Robbert
Diminutive form of the Germanic name Robert, meaning "bright renown".
Name Census estimates that about 363 living Americans carry the first name Robbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Robbert today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Robbert births was 1956 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Robbert. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Robbert with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
363
~ 1 in 944,227 Americans
Peak year
1956
16 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2003 SSA rank
#10,596
Tracked since 1915
Census
Robbert in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 698 people with the first name Robbert, which placed it at #16,239 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,239
National first-name rank
People counted
698
698 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Robbert
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Robbert is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Robbert described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Robbert at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 534
- Black or African American9.2% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 45
- Two or more races4.7% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 9
Popularity
Robbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Robbert from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Robbert by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Robbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Robberts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Robbert
The name Robbert finds its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the roots "hrod" meaning "fame" or "renown" and "berht" meaning "bright" or "shining." Its earliest recorded use dates back to the Middle Ages in regions of present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Robbert the Brave, a Frankish knight who fought alongside Charlemagne in the late 8th century. His exploits were documented in the medieval epic poem "The Song of Robbert."
In the 11th century, Robbert of Leeuwarden, a Dutch nobleman, gained prominence for his role in the establishment of the city of Leeuwarden in the province of Friesland. His name is commemorated in several historical records and local legends.
During the Renaissance, Robbert van Oudewater, a Dutch painter and engraver born in 1460, gained recognition for his intricate woodcut illustrations and religious artwork. His works can be found in various museums and collections across Europe.
In the 17th century, Robbert Hooke, an English natural philosopher born in 1635, made significant contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy, and architecture. He is best known for his work on the law of elasticity and his pioneering microscope observations.
Another notable figure was Robbert Schumann, a German composer and influential music critic born in 1810. He is celebrated for his piano compositions, orchestral works, and the establishment of the influential music journal "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik."
Throughout history, the name Robbert has been associated with individuals renowned for their accomplishments, bravery, and intellectual pursuits, reflecting its etymological roots related to fame and brilliance.
People
Robbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Robbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Robbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Robbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 363 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Robbert going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 944,227 US residents.
Is Robbert a common name?
We classify Robbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 580 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Robbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Robbert was 1956, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Robbert is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Robbert in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 698 people with the name Robbert, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,239 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Robbert in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Robbert?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Robbert appears almost entirely male. Of the 691 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Robbert?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Robbert is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Robbert most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Robbert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (534 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Robbert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Robbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Robbert in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Robbert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Robbert in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Robbert can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Robbert?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.